Bleach: Shihai no Tsumi: Vengeance Unattained
Raising the Curtain "Now it's time to raise the curtain on Act One." Takahashi said, as they exited the Garganta. All but the Shriekers. As the Garganta closed, they vanished into black smoke. "Angelika, I'd like you and your troops to head into the street and simply kill." He put ice-cold emphasis on the last word. "Man, woman, child, I'd like it dead. I do not care where you kill either. Be it in the Seireitei or in Rukongai, I want blood of the innocents as a message saying "We're here"." "Of course...." Angelika's smooth and German-accented voice answered back to him, before she turned her head towards her two subordinates on either side of her. "Oliver!" She barked out. "Anton! Show our clients here how a sportsman hunts their ducks!" This brought about a malicious smile above Oliver's face. He and Anton raised what appeared to be scoped rifles to aim down the sight, several targets of opportunity waiting down below. Just to add insult to injury, Oliver set his sights on the head of what looked like a young child running and skipping along the street. Despite being without her parents, she was looking quite happy to be outside for the moment. "At the ready, kraut." He said gruffly. "Fire at will!" BANG! BANG! BANG! The girl's happy face immediately contorted to one of shock as the bullet tore through her chest. She fell to the ground, eyes losing their color and her expression becoming blank. Her head sank to its side, a trickle of blood flowing from her mouth. All around her, blood stained the ground. The two troops continued to fire, killing any targets that they set their eyes on. Women, men, children, even animals... it didn't matter. They were all lambs to the slaughter, pigs shredded and eaten by the ruthless mercenaries. Oliver was laughing, clearly having a good time as he shot down civilian after civilian. "Eat this, you fucking monkeys!!!" "Will this draw them out?" Nabiki asked, surveying the mass murder with a look of distaste on her face. She didn't approve of her Captain's order, but she wasn't going to question it. "I'm counting on it." Takahashi replied. "I could find them myself if I wanted. But I'd prefer they come to me." Over by the Red Hollow Gate, inside the Seireitei, the sounds caught the ears of Miharu, who was quick to point it out to the others. "Can you guys hear that?" She asked. "It sounds like gunshots." "And screams...." Megami's ears could pick up the sound of civilians screaming in terror, her heart quickening and her eyes narrowing. "It's happening again...." She whispered. "Those mercenaries have started their attack again!" "Which means Takahashi's here!" Rukia realized suddenly. "I can feel his energy, How could I have missed it before this?" "I think we need to get moving." Miharu said, though it sounded like an uncertain question. "I know we have to get moving." Megami added, a rather stern tone in her voice. She stood up, looking over at Rukia. "Rukia! This is your ground now, I'm afraid I'm not a navigator when it comes to situations like this." "Of course." Rukia nodded, and she took off, motioning for them to follow her. "I can't help but think they're doing this to send of a signal saying "We're here"." She said as she ran. "The falling spiritual signals, no matter how small, will be noticed by those with astute senses. Top it off with Takahashi's own large spiritual energy, and the entire Seireitei should be on alert soon." "By this point, I think they already are...." "We're getting closer." Rukia called back. "In a few minutes, we may be charging right into a hail of bullets!" "W-what?" Miharu sounded shocked. "I don't wanna be shot full of holes!" Megami clapped her hands together, focusing spiritual energy within them. She knew exactly what she had to do: a protective Kidō spell once they came within the range of the bullets. "What's your suggestion?!" She called out to Rukia, her eyes drifting up towards the sky. "A protective Kidō barrier to start." She said, turning a corner as quickly as possible, the sound of bullets and screaming becoming more audible. "After that, we turn our sights on the ones doing the shooting. There are four of us, so we'll split. If we're lucky, it will only be one or two out there doing the shooting. That should make it slightly easier. I will deal with the snipers, Megami, you and your daughter head to Takahashi." "U-us?" Miharu asked, sounding nervous and excited. "Yes, you." Rukia nodded. "I can feel Midoriko and Kibō on their way back, and they seem to be accompanied by powerful Shinigami." Megami nodded grimly. "All right...." She relented, bracing herself. "Here goes nothing.... Sotokonsekisho!" Using a great deal of her energy, she summoned a protective barrier as they charged headlong into death. When the gunners stopped firing, she would take her daughter and confront Takahashi.... and hopefully not die. She gritted her teeth as she kept the barrier up, hoping that they would not die in the initial onslaught. As the barrier was formed, Angelika was the first one to notice. "Oh, look!" She remarked, smiling as she watched the defense take place. "It seems that the barely alert presences have taken to bringing themselves out in the open." "Split now!" Rukia called out, and she launched herself with Shunpo in the direction of Oliver and Anton. Against firearms, she was at a bit of a disadvantage, so binding them seemed to be the most logical course of action. Going up into the air with a Shunpo, becoming a near blur with her speed, her fingertips on both hands began to glow with yellow energy. "Bakudō, number 63! Sajo Sabaku!" She called out the Kidō name, and let strong ropes of energy fling from her fingertips, flying down towards Anton and Oliver, and, as they closed in, began to quickly snake around their bodies in an attempt to bind their arms. Oliver's eyes widened in shock. "Oh, shit--" "You really need to learn how to think reflexively, American." The Russian smiled slyly, raising one hand up in front of him and towards the ropes. "Danku." He stated. Within seconds, a shield appeared in front of both him and the ropes that threatened to imprison him and his partner. He timed it perfectly; once the ropes collided, they disintegrated immediately. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Megami charge in with her daughter past them and towards Takahashi. But he paid no mind to it; what they were doing was suicide. Takahashi would slay them quickly and proceed on with the plan. For now.... "A Kidō?" Rukia's expression was one of surprise as she descended to the ground. And a Danku no less. All low-level binding spells she could conserve energy with were useless if he could use that. As Miharu and Megami charged in towards Takahashi, Miharu raised her hand, forming a blob of water. It began to lengthen, becoming spear-like, and then it froze. An ice spear. "Take this!" Miharu threw the ice spear at Takahashi, and it spiraled, increasing in power as it sped towards him. Takahashi stood there calmly, not fazed by the weapon coming his way. When the spear was no more than four inches away from him, it shattered, forming into several small, sharp shards. He smiled and the shards turned, launching themselves back at Miharu and Megami. Immediately, Megami extended a hand out. This was her field, and she assumed as such. When the shards neared her, they liquified instantly. They floated towards her hand, taking on the form of her Zanpakutō. A grim smile came across her face as she lowered it, mentally cheering at her first step in the battle. But she knew that she was a far cry from Takahashi's abilites. Hopefully, with Kyumu, they both could stand a chance.... Silently, Anton lowered himself to the ground, tossing his gun away as he did so. His feet landed, and he was now standing a distance away from Rukia. Oliver, seeing as there was no more restraint, raised his rifle and continued to fire at the civilians left. By then, most had taken to their homes as protection, so there were only a few stragglers along with the corpses that scattered the ground. Even after seeing Megami draw her sword, Takahashi made no move to draw his own. He pointed his hand down at the young girl, the first victim of the shooting. There was the sound of cracking, and flesh being ripped open. A bone, the femur, was floating up into his palm. While it moved, bone began to chip away, and it sharpened into a blade, which Takahashi grasped. "W-what was that?" Miharu choked the words out, rather shocked to see bones of a dead body used like that. "Telekinesis." Takahashi replied simply. "I need only think, and I have a new arsenal." "I think I'm going to be sick...." Megami grasped her stomach, looking on in horror at the newfound weapon. "That....was a child, you monster....!!!" She managed to gasp out, unable to believe her eyes. Her knuckles grew white, her squeeze on the hilt of her sword the cause of it. "Child or not, once their dead, they're bodies are free to be used for anything." Takahashi replied. "A warrior makes use of everything he can, surroundings, even deceased individuals." He chuckled dryly. "Let me show you something fun." He twitched his fingers, and more bones, from various bodies, began to rip form their respective carcasses, and fly towards one point in the air where they began to assemble. Bone piling upon bone, connecting to various joints and such as removed, formed a skeleton. However, more bones began to crush on top of it, forming into a suit of armor. How many people had died for this? The flying bones stopped, and finished product was a large, white samurai, roughly human sized. Takahashi threw it the bone-sword. "How do you like it?" Takahashi asked, amusement in his voice. Megami couldn't even begin to describe the anger that was boiling within her. She didn't grace him with a response. Instead, she thrust her sword out at him, the tip pointed straight for him. That very blade separated into four pillars of crushing water, heading towards Takahashi at a breakneck speed. "Tsk tsk." Takahashi swept his hand to the side, and the bone golem moved surprising fast, using it's large, durable body to block the water blade. "He is your opponent now." Miharu had vanished from her spot, and she was behind Takahashi. "Forgot about me, didn'tcha?" She said smugly, raising Kyūmu. "Improvise!" She called out, and Kyūmu took the form of a giant, gleaming axe. She swung the axe down, only for Takahashi to raise his hand up, the aze (and Miharu) getting sent back without even touching him. She skidded back. "What the heck?" Down on the ground, Rukia has just drawn her blade. Due to Danku, low level Kidō spells were useless now, and she wanted to conserve as much energy as possible. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki." She held her Zanpakutō out in front of her and turned it in a circle counter-clockwise. As she turned it, the blade, hilt and tsuba turned completely white. She vanished, appearing back behind Oliver, seemingly turning her attention from Anton. She had to stop Oliver first. She forced her blade into the ground. "Daiyon no Mai, Juhaku." She murmured. A trail of ice formed from where she stabbed the ground, and began to snake it's way towards Oliver. All the while, she was murmuring under her breath. "....damn it." Immediately, Oliver, clearly not happy about having to switch targets, shifted his fire towards the ice. First, he fired continuously, the bullets shattering through the ice and dismantling the structure of the attack. To whatever he missed, he leaped out of the way, performing an acrobatic roll before rising up in a crouch position. "Hey, Anton!" He called out. "I'm joining in on this fight. This bitch seems like she just ain't going to leave me be...." Giving a curt nod to Oliver, Anton directed his gaze to Rukia for a moment, studying her over. "The noble Rukia Kuchiki...." He remarked slowly, a ghost of a smile crossing his face. "An honor meeting you.... if we weren't in this situation, I would gladly bow to you." The words he spoke had a genuine flow from them, even as he stood ready to fight the girl to the death. Rukia turned to look over at Anton. "A polite killer. I can't say I've met someone like you before." She vanished with Shunpo, appearing at Anton's side, her white blade glowing. "Some no Mai, Tsukishiro!" She made a slashing motion to her side, in Anton's direction. A large ice circle formed under his feet and quickly began to rise up, aiming to freeze anything everything within the circle's influence. At first, it seemed to work. The first thing Anton did was extend his hands towards Rukia before the ice arose underneath him. It enveloped him completely, freezing him in the pillar that was rising rapidly towards the sky. Wherever it went, only the owners of the attack would know. However, the only thing that was of concern was the man now frozen within its center. In a few moments, the ice would break, and he would shatter along with it. Gritting his teeth, Oliver aimed his weapon at Rukia and was ready to pull the trigger to end her life. However, the girl's victory was short-lived. SMASH! From Anton's frozen body, a brief light of red was generated. Then, a bright red mass of flames burst forth from the ice, heating and liquifying it instantly. Oliver's eyes widened, but he kept the rifle trained on Rukia as the fire threatened to consume her. If Anton managed to kill her off with the move, well and good. But if not... he would catch her right where she stopped, pull the trigger, and finish her off right then and there. For her, it would be a lose-lose situation. But for them, it would be one step closer to victory and reward. "G'night, Kuchiki...." The moment Rukia saw the flames, she sped up, taking to the sky as quickly as possible in an effort to avoid them. As she moved, there was a flash of red, and Bala slammed right into Oliver's weapon. "Gah!! What the--" To his chagrin, the gun was knocked from his hands and slid a few feet away from him. His eyes narrowed, and he turned to glare at his assailant. It was a girl, the energy dissipating from her hands as the Bala subsided. Angelika blinked a little, staring in surprise at the newcomer that had approached. However, it faded away immediately. Of course there would be more to help the Kurosaki. They were in enemy territory after all! Meanwhile, Megami focused her attention onto the golem. Hopefully, Takahashi wouldn't kill Miharu outright.... she decided to launch a second attack identical to the first, but this time at the golem that was apparently challenging her. Nabiki was merely watching. She hadn't gone to draw her sword or join the battle in any way yet. Miharu appeared in front of Takahashi, swinging the large axe down, only for it to be deflected once again without him so much as twitching a muscle. Miharu was grinding her teeth in frustration. "Takahashi, tell me something." Miharu said, looking straight at him. "Why are you attacking the Seireitei?" "Why?" Takahashi repeated. "To put it simply, I enjoy watching moving objects. A motionless pinwheel isn't worth watching. Then again, when it's stopped it can sometimes be sentimental too." He took a breath, and continued speaking as if he and Miharu were discussing this over drinks. "Either way, I am going to make the pinwheel spin with the destruction of the Gotei 13 right now." Eying Megami, he waved his hand, and the golem moved to the side, and swung it's armored arm up at her face. BOOSH! Bone collided with pressurized water, and the more continuous force dominated the latter. The giant was knocked back. Megami allowed a slight smirk to cross her face before swinging her hilt, the pillars swinging sideways along with it to cut into the monster's side. As Rukia was coming up-- WOOSH! --Anton was on her in an instant, his figure shadowing hers from behind. Two blades had merged onto his hand, both of them made out of spiritual energy. It was a dual Kirimi spell. "I'm Anton Semenov." He introduced himself. "Just in case both of us happen to survive this fight...!" With that, he swung one of the blades towards Rukia's side in an attempt to cut her in half. Rukia dodged with Shunpo, and her timing was excellent, for the energy blade barely managed to singe her outfit. "Hadō number 9, Hakurai." She extended her palm, firing a powerful blast of lightning towards Anton. Aoi was standing motionless for a moment, looking at Oliver. Then she vanished quietly, appearing in front of him without so much as a sound. Her hand immediately shot towards his chest, right where his heart would be located. "From what you said, it sounded like you're attacking the Seireitei because you're bored." Miharu said quietly. "You can think of it that way." Takahashi said, smiling. "You killed people because you were bored?" Miharu's Zanpakutō began to morph, losing it's axe shape, and turning into a saw-toothed ice blade. Without a word, though her eyes were full of anger, she swung it, sending massive ice crystals shards at Takahashi. This time, he moved, though only slightly, blurring and reappearing slightly to the left. Megami's attack hit home, cutting the bone golem in half easily. It began to crumble, and it appeared to be raining bones from it's spot. Oliver's feelings compared to Aoi's were mutual. With one hand of his own, the blond caught Aoi's hand at the wrist and raised her hand over her head. He balled his free hand into a fist, delivering three ferocious rights to the spot where the girl's ribs should've been. On the third punch, he forced her back from him. His teeth were gritted, and his eyes were widened in battle-driven rage. Reaching into his coat, he yanked out what looked like a high-caliber pistol. He aimed, unleashing several shots at the girl in order to finish her off quickly. Aoi's Hierro did a good job of protecting her, the damaged the impact of those punches would have had was halved. She shrugged off the rest of the damage, and the moment she saw him pull the trigger, she jumped, dodging the bullets that flew under her. She breathed in through her nose and frowned. "Your power..." She murmured, though loud enough for him to hear. "It smells weak..." "And you smell like shit...." Oliver retorted bitterly, keeping his pistol aimed for the girl's head. "Ever heard of something called a bath?" "....well.... that was quick." Thankful that the fight seemed to have ended so quickly, Megami looked on as the bones fell onto the ground. However, this caused her to stare upon the corpses. A chill of disgust ran through her, her anger towards Takahashi surfacing once again. She turned her head to glare up at him and Angelika, sword tightening within her hand once again. "I hope we don't have to wait for much longer...." She thought to herself, turning the pillars on Takahashi once more. This caused the German woman to float out of the way, clearly not wanting to get in the way of the attack. Immediately, Anton jerked to the side, barely missing the lightning. However, he could feel the heat from the beam itself, knowing that it would've been enough to burn a killing hole into him. Not wanting to be outdone, he raised his own finger to fire an identical shot of lightning back at Rukia. His eyes were concentrated, having little malice within them. His actions stated otherwise, however. Nightmare March While this violence was going on near the gates, Nabiki was seemed to be silent, her eyes following the fight. Takahashi had now drawn his blade and was currently fending off both Miharu and Megami with relative ease. But her mind however was not focused on what she was watching. She was currently in telepathic communication with Shikaku, who had arrived unsensed by the others. He was Seireitei sewer system, and Shrieker army was following him, in a compressed, gaseous form, a new, last minute feature Nabiki had added to make them easier to move through spaces like this. "Shikaku, how're things down there?" She asked. "Have any Shinigami noticed you yet?" Shikaku's eyes searched around. "I have no visual yet...." He remarked dryly, moving through the sewer system and keeping himself on guard. "But things can always change in the blink of an eye. I feel as though the Seireitei relaxed their guard a bit too much for our comfort.... do you feel something's....wrong?" "It's possible." Nabiki replied, though the thought hadn't crossed her mind before Shikaku mentioned it. "They're too relaxed. I haven't felt a single Captain even '''notice' us yet. I have been feeling multiple spiritual signals heading our way, but they haven't arrived yet. So, perhaps they're not as relaxed as we think."'' "Agreed...." Shikaku said. "We're in enemy's territory, and I am unsure on what could be lying ahead of us. Be on your absolute guard.... failure isn't an option." His last words were bitter and ominous, the flashback of Diosa's death playing through his mind once more. "I know." Nabiki replied gravely. "Good luck." As the communications closed, a Shinigami appeared, a member of Fourth Company. He was down cleaning the sewers. However, he felt the spiritual pressure of the approaching Arrancar and his eyes widened as he almost fell to his knees. He was struggling to his feet as Shikaku turned a corner, the gas following him. The Shinigami took one look at him and tried to run. He had to report this! Shikaku would not allow him to escape so easily. With one swift motion, he grasped the Shinigami's throat, eyes narrowing and his lip curling. "Unless you're wishing for a painful death right here and now in these filthy sewers...." He spat, a killing intent flaring up. "Then you will tell me where can I find the 4th Division headquarters. Only then might I let you live....Shinigami filth!" He lifted the man up in the air, only presenting enough force not to choke him to death. "T-to get to the F-Fourth Company stalls, keep moving s-straight down here." The boy choked out. "You reach a dead end, but there will be a manhole right above you. O-open it, and when you get out, proceed to the left. The Division Stalls are there." "Thank you, brat." With that, Shikaku made the decision to force him around and deliver a swift chop to his neck, knocking him unconscious. However, he made sure to toss him over to the dry side of the sewer as to not make him drown in the muck. Without hesitation, he continued on to follow the boy's directions. "Nabiki. I'm proceeding to destroy the 4th Division's barracks from the inside out. If their medical sources are gone, then they will have nothing they can rely on to reduce casualties from the mounted attack." "A great choice of action." Nabiki responded. "Proceed." Nodding, Shikaku started walking faster. It wasn't much later after that he reached the manhole cover that the boy had been talking about. He grasped the bars and climbed upward, closing in on the manhole cover. He would kill everyone.... everything in that building that dared to oppose him. The rest, the Shriekers could have as prey. He just wanted to slaughter the very beings that thought they could raise a sword to him. At this very moment, all that he was concerned about was slaughtering his foe.... He placed a hand on the manhole cover. BOOM! Before he knew it, the walls of the vertical tunnel exploded, and the force sent him down into the base of the sewer once more. The power rocked his senses, and for a moment, he was sent into blackness. His thoughts were reeling out of the shellshock he was feeling, even as rocks collapsed and buried him underneath. In the distance, he could hear even more explosions going off, and could only wonder what could've happened.... Nabiki felt a disturbance between her and Shikaku's telepathic link. "Shikaku!" She called out. "Are you alright? What's going on down there?" Silence on the other end. Shikaku was climbing out of the debris, coughing and clutching his chest for a moment. However, when he raised his head up, he saw that there were several bombs going off in the alley opposite of which he had gone in. All of them had been lined up in the ceiling.... and each explosion was getting closer to him! Horror striking him, he leaped upwards, not bothering to use the ladder. He was instantly jumped by several Shinigami, all of which looked like seated officers. Shikaku immediately whipped out his own personal blade and engaged his attackers. It was a short, one-sided battle. The Arrancar skillfully cut through the officers and finished them off within seconds before alerting Nabiki again. "I'm being engaged by 4th Division Shinigami in the barracks!" He reported, knowing that there were reinforcements coming along. "They knew I was coming!" "I see." Nabiki murmured. "As the 4th Division is a medical unit, most of their seated Shinigami aren't great attackers. You shouldn't have a problem taking them out. Now, I'm going to set the Shriekers loose. Like rats in the street, they will destroy everything they can find." "Do so with haste! I'd like to get this over with!" Nabiki chuckled, and she uttered the word "Release!" The gas began to whirl and from it, multiple Shriekers began to form, and were released, landing on rooftops and in the streets. No sooner had they been released than they took off, running throughout the streets, breaking into homes, etc. After about thirty had been released, more kept coming. "Have fun Shikaku." Nabiki said merrily. "Right..." With no hinderances, Shikaku raced through the 4th Division barracks, ready to put and end to this battle once and for all. Shinigami inside the barracks easily picked up both Shikaku's powerful spiritual energy and the scattered spiritual energies of the Shriekers that were spreading out. Despite being only in the Fourth Division, they had to defend their barracks. Several of the more powerful Shinigami of this division poured out in small droves. Some were heading towards Shikaku, but others took off in the directions of the spreading out Shriekers, the ones that were closest to their barracks. As several Shinigami closed in on Shikaku, one of them removed a small glass vial from his kosoode and threw it directly at Shikaku's face. "Uh oh." Sensing danger, Shikaku immediately ducked the vial and charged inward, his sword flashing. He didn't waste any time in cutting down the first Shinigami. Then the second, the third, and the fourth. All of them dispatched with swift and cold professionality. With those defenses cleared, Shikaku continued to make his way through. More Shinigami emerged, each of them with their blades drawn. They divided, and each one launched a Sōkatsui attack from all sides. "HAH!" Immediately, Shikaku extended his hands out, expelling a large amount of his own spiritual pressure from his body. It acted as strong winds on their bodies, slamming them against the wall and knocking them out. However, a few were unfortunate to hit the wall hard enough for their bones to shatter among impact. They crumpled to the ground, lifeless. The Arrancar smiled in amusement, running away to penetrate deeper into the facility. "Worthless...." As Shikaku went full on with his assult of the medical division, the sound of ringing and explosions starting to echo around the Seireitei. The Shreikers were spreading out, and attacking anything in sight. Buildings, animals, souls. Whatever they saw, they shot the leeches. While their victims were busy trying to pry them off, the Shriekers let out the ringing sound...and the victims exploded. Midoriko, Kibō, and the Yamamura family were still on the move, and were lucky enough to witness this. "Poor bastards...." Kibō muttered under his breath, his eyes contorting with mild sympathy as he ran. Sachi remained silent, though she did glance at the death going on occasionally. It was clear that even the stoic Yamamura wasn't entirely unaffected by the slaughter all around them. Morio looked down at the murder going on in the streets. He frowned. "Everyone, I think I'll make a stop-off here." He said, already beginning to make his descent. "Don't do anything stupid!" Sachi immediately warned him, voice stern. She already knew what he was going to do, and she knew he could handle himself. She just hoped that in the heat of battle, he wouldn't get carried away. "Since when have I ever done anything stupid?" He called back up. "Since that jail break a few centuries ago!" "Oh yeah..." Mori murmured. "Jailbreak?" Midoriko asked, turning to Sachi. "It's not important...." Sachi answered dismissively. Morio hit the ground, smiling. He raised his hand up, forming his Hollow mask. He calmly placed it onto his face. "Why don't we get the fun started?" Multiple Shriekers heard his voice and turned their attention to him. "Oh, so you all can hear me. That makes this easier." The Shriekers spit out several leeches onto Morio. Under his mask, he frowned, attempting to pull them off, but to no avail. They extended their tongues and emitted a vibrating ringing noise, which immediately caused the leeches to explode, making Morio stumble back, blood dripping down his arms and skull, his mask already cracked. "Alright..." He murmured. "I wasn't expecting that." He placed a hand to his face, regenerating the broken portion of the mask. "Since the Gote 13 seems to be sleeping on the job, I'll gladly play the role of the exterminator." He raised up his fist, and it was covered in green energy. The Shriekers noticed and spat leeches at him. Right before they hit, he let a Cero loose, the blast annihilating the leeches and the Shriekers in his way, as well as some unfortunate buildings. "That was easy enough." Morio murmured, however, his feeling of victory was going to be short-lived indeed. As he turned his back on the remains of the Shriekers, they began to quiver, and from the remains sprouted more limbs. The Shriekers were regenerating. As Morio was walking off, he felt multiple splashes onto his back, arms, and the back of his head. Before he could react, he heard the vibrating bell sound. BOOM!' Several explosions from all over his body and on the ground around him could now he heard for a fair distance in the Seireitei. Meanwhile, a dozen Shriekers had reached the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. This squad of Shriekers were sent here by Nabiki herself to dispose of the SRDI. Meanwhile, inside the structure itself, two figures of importance were speaking to one another. They were the captains of the 4th and 12th Divisions, Naomi and Shien respectively. All around them, workers were scrambling to finish up working and monitor progresses of their technology before the attack hit them. It was an effort to check defenses of the facility before it was hit by the oncoming Shriekers. "....and the device is active....?" Naomi questioned, cocking an eyebrow. A smirk crossed Shien's face, his arms folded across his chest. "Not only active, but fully functional!" He declared, raising a finger to adjust his glasses. "This man will never suspect a thing when he realizes what he's going up against. Of course, I have only myself to think, but I will give props to the head Captain for his thought-out plan!" This caused Naomi to roll her eyes. Shien was always such a narcissist genius, a degenerate prodigy when it came to his work and progress in the Gotei 13. "Let's just hope that same technology can be used to defend this base when those Hollows hit. Failure isn't an option here, Shien-taichō. Do you understand that?" "Hmph! Failure is eons away from my vocabulary, dear...." "Shriekers, attack now. Use the Doce Cero." Nabiki sent her telepathic orders to the creatures. Each of the dozen Shrieker's began to move, assuming various positions around the Shinigami Research and Development Institute so they could cause damage from all sides. They opened their mouths and stuck their tongues straight out, forming purple orbs of energy in front of each of them. The orbs began to grow larger and larger, and then stopped. There was a moment of silence, and then each Shrieker unleashed a large purple beam simultaneously and they merged at the same point, forming a massive and powerful Cero that tore the ground as it headed towards to engulf and disintegrate the SRDI as well as everyone inside. It smashed into the outside walls, its power pushing against the very facility. However, even with the combined might of this, the SRDI building stood like an impenetrable wall against the attack. However, the energy was enough to shake its innards, similar in the manner to how an earthquake would be executed. Inside the heart of the facility, the occupants staggered a little, some even falling over in surprise due to the weight. "Damn it...." Naomi growled, rising to her feet and glaring at the entrance way. "I'm sensing enemy presences all over the area! They've got this whole place under siege!" This prompted a few workers to take up arms, both swords and a few Kidō rifles being wielded in preparation. "They'll never get through." Shien answered dismissively. "Mayuri made a foolish mistake in not attending to the alloy of his own facility in the case of destruction. What I've constructed out of it is fool-proof; they'll never be able to use those creatures to smash straight through like any other building! So we have plenty of time to prepare ourselves once they storm in." His eyes searched around. "Now, where's my damn Lieutenant! I told him to be here five minutes ago!!" "Tsk!" Nabiki hissed in her thoughts, noticing that the Doce Cero wasn't causing any significant damage. "I expected more than this." Then something came to her. If they couldn't destroy from the outside, then perhaps, the inside? The dozens of the Shriekers merged and took on their gas form. In this form, they began to move, their spiritual energy undetectable, themselves nearly invisible and odorless. As they reached the main building of the SRDI, they seeped into a vent on the side of the main building. "Our motion sensors picking up something entering through the vents, taichō!" "Hm?" Shien raised an eyebrow, looking up to the ceiling. One of the vent extensions led directly into the room they were in. A rather sadistic sneer crossed his face, and he directed his gaze to the worker that spoke. "If they're attempting to poison us, they surely don't know any better! Turn on the air conditioner! It might get a bit colder, but it'll force that gas right out of the building!!" As the worker did so, the 12th Division captain turned to Naomi with an irked expression. "Takahashi clearly underestimates my abilities. That will be the fool's downfall!" He declared. As the cool air began to circulate through the building, it worked as Shien had expected, blowing the Shrieker gas directly out of the vent and back outside, where they regained corporeal form. Nabiki hissed. These failure's weren't letting her thinking straight. But, the vent had given her another idea. She had one of the Shrieker's fly in and rip the vent "cage" open. The Shrieker's "artillery" were form, and began to run through the vent. These beings weren't gas, and they felt no pain. They would keep moving, no matter how hot, cold, or how much damage they took. As the "artillery" reached the end of the vent, they opened the other vent "cage", leering into the room where Shien and the others were. This time, Naomi was the first to react. "LOOK OUT!!!" Immediately, the 4th Division Captain raised her hands up, summoning her Kidō to her aid. Immediately, one half of the Kagesei spell had pinned itself to the vent cage opening, preventing the artillery from exploding and causing considerable damage. "Sooner or later, they're going to find some way to breach the facility..." She commented tensely, eyes narrowing. "We need reinforcements to turn the heat off of us--" "Shien-taichō!" Immediately, a voice shot from Shien's ear through an earpiece he was wearing. "This is Takashi, can you read me, over?" "You'd better have a good explanation for being so late, Takashi!" Shien snapped, placing a finger to his earpiece so that his voice could be heard better. "W-well, sir.... I managed to contact the 2nd Division. They sent out a small group of Onmitsukidō in order to assist in the support, but there was a volunteer unit from the Yūrei that came to assist them. I'll put the leader on... just a moment...." It was only a few seconds, before Shogo Nakamura's voice spoke out. "Captain Shien? I was told that you and your men could use some help...." His tone sounded gruff, but polite nonetheless. "The troops and I are making our way close to position ourselves behind the enemy's frontlines. With the 2nd Division's tech and our natural affinities, we're cloaked from their senses. You'll know when you're free when the first gunshot sounds. Out." The communication ended. Shien frowned disdainfully, folding his arms across his chest. "I do hope they do their job. I don't keep this facility up and running just so it can be torn down by these rebellious hooligans!" He said indignantly, before turning off and storming away. Naomi just watched him go for a moment before letting out an annoyed sigh. Why was her colleagues so difficult to work with....? Nabiki was beginning to get rather frustrated with these failures. She sighed. There was one more option, though it wasn't one she favored. The Shrieker's version of suicide bombing. Each Shrieker raised it's head directly up, and a multitude of "artillery" were created, surrounding the main laboratory on all sides. They began to pile up on each other, and then stopped, the building surrounded in a mass of green. They all released leeches, hitting the buildings and each other. "Now!" All twelve Shriekers extended their tongues, and the vibrating ringing sound and the leeches created a truly massive explosion, destroying the remaining artillery as well as attacking the building itself. The explosion began to expand, enveloping the Shriekers, ripping them apart and turning them to dust. Needless the say, the explosion attracted attention. Inside, all of the workers were knocked viciously off of their feet, and the two Captains were forced to stagger for a moment. All of their eyes widened in considerable shock, the power rippling through their bodies like a wind. However, despite all of that, the near-impenetrable building still held under the brutal suicide attack caused by the Shriekers. The bright light, however, was enough to shake the buildings nearby.... WHAM! Immediately, Shogo led a raid through the front door of the building next door, his rifle aimed and ready to shoot at a moment's notice. However, once he saw virtually nothing, he lowered it in what appeared to be slight disappointment. He motioned out his comrade Kuniumi, who was acting as the pathfinder for the 2nd Division squad. "Looks like we were too late.... Shriekers killed themselves attempting to blow up the facility." He commented, eyes searching around. Kuniumi whistled. "Woah. They must be getting desperate. Things just might be turning in our favor, eh?" Shogo turned his attention to the squad. "You all, scout the perimeter and proceed with caution." He ordered. "There may be enemies in the area, so keep yourself undetected and out of sight. Kuniumi and I will speak with the 12th and 4th Division captains on what's going on in this sector. Move out!" "Yes, sir!" The shadows scattered immediately, leaving Kuniumi and Shogo to stand alone and approach the facility. Nabiki sighed. Her attack on the Twelfth Division Barracks had come to a pathetic failure. Takahashi wasn't going to like this, though luckily, she wouldn't have to tell him just yet. She turned her telepathy towards Shikaku now. "Shikaku, how are things on your end?" "Never better...." As Shikaku was speaking to her, he stood in one of the medical facilities. In his wake, there was a line of dead Shinigami that had been unfortunate enough to cross his path. He walked slowly, though with a purpose. "Their defense is heavily lacking, but apparently they were quick enough to evacuate patients out of the area before I could get to them. Nevertheless, the 4th Division's barracks HQ is being liquified as we speak." Nabiki chuckled. "Nice. I wish I could say the same for my assignment. My Shrieker assault on Twelfth Company did not go as I would have expected. Even my last ditch explosion failed. Takahashi-sama will not be pleased." An amused smile crossed Shikaku's face. "Never send a child to do an adult's job, I suppose." He answered tauntingly. The remembrance of Nabiki's long-term mistrust in him had jarred itself within his mind. But he could've cared less about what she thought of him. What was a measly minion like her to do? "I was merely following orders." Nabiki replied icily. "It was Takahashi-sama that understimated the durability the labs of Twelfth Company have. It has rather changed since our time here." Shikaku quirked an eyebrow, even though she wouldn't be able to see it. "So you're saying that you have some doubts of Takahashi's forethought? At the very least, I can commend you for not being a mindless drone to his cause." He commented, the taunt wiped from his voice this time. Nabiki hissed. "Either way, I'm turning my attention away from Twelfth Company. If you're finished where you are, go take them on yourself. I shall turn my Shrieker's attentions to Sixth Company."